The ancient crystalline cave lay silent and peaceful, as it had for the past few centuries. Its shimmering walls were as untarnished as the day the sanctuary had first been created. A few luminescent mushrooms grew within the area, illuminating it with a cool, almost magical soothing glow. At the center of the underground grove proudly stood the Tree of Harmony. Its roots dug deep into the ground. Some said they touched all of Equestria, granting the ponies peace and prosperity.
A strong flash of white light disturbed the normally quiet cave. It came suddenly, without warning or invitation.
"Good afternoon, Harmony old gal!" Discord announced, holding his lion paw and eagle claw outstretched as he materialized in the middle of the grove.
A few drops of water fell from the ceiling. The dripping sound they made as they hit the ground resonated within the entire cave.
"What? Can't an immortal spirit of chaos and disharmony visit an old acquaintance?" Discord asked, rolling his eyes. "It's not like you're getting much in the way of excitement down in this hole. I'm doing you a favor, you know!"
The spirit of chaos snapped his claw, creating a lawn chair out of thin air. He spun his body through the air, gliding onto the comfortable-looking seat. "Here we go, might as well make myself comfortable."
No sound could be heard in the grove, outside of Discord loudly slurping a glass of apple juice.
"Fine, be that way! I can't believe I'm admitting this, but you were more fun before you became a tree," he argued, turning his head away.
A subtle gust of wind found its way inside the grove and brushed the tree's branches, creating a few subtle chimes.
"Oh, come now? What makes you think I'm here to disturb you?" Discord asked as he floated up and faced the tree again. "I would have you know that I'm reformed! In fact, if I had known ponies like Fluttershy could be so fun, I'd have turned to the good side eons ago!"
The grove fell silent once more.
"At least it beats being stuck in stone. Existing as an inanimate object is more your thing."
A few droplets fell from the ceiling again.
"Oh fine, be boring in a boring cave," Discord said, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms. The spirit of chaos pouted a moment, before lowering his head with a soft sigh. "We shouldn't be arguing again. Peace?" he sheepishly suggested as he took a red flower out of his ear and handed it to the tree.
He was met by silence. The flower flapped its petals and flew away like a butterfly.
Discord sighed and slowly floated back to his lawn chair. He turned and pouted again for a moment before his expression morphed into a grin. He turned back to face the tree. "I know what'll convince you. What if I told you about Fluttershy? Well, I know you've met her; she used to carry that butterfly around," he said as he pointed in the general direction of the Element of Kindness.
The six elements faintly glimmered, almost imperceptibly.
"Anyway, I have tea with her every Tuesdays. You probably know that already," Discord explained with a smile. One of his ears flickered after a moment. "Oh you didn't? Well that's your fault for being a tree! You can't blame anypony for keeping you out of the loop! Either way, this whole friendship thing, I think it's working out. Fluttershy even suggested we invite Twilight along next week."
A few birds sang outside, and a warm breeze caressed the spirit of chaos' face.
"Aha! That got your attention, didn't it?" Discord teased with a grin.
He stared at the tree, but no sound could be heard.
"Anyway, I spend a lot of time with Fluttershy. Just last week, we went to this endangered cricket sanctuary or some other nonsense with Treehugger, another one of her friends."
"It's true, and I didn't cause any disasters! Well, maybe a little, but nopony got hurt. Really, I was trying to help."
The mushrooms' soothing glow flickered ever so slightly.
Discord's wings flapped excitingly. "It all started when I visited Fluttershy for our Tuesday tea. I told you about those, remember? Anyway, she had Treehugger along. Apparently she wanted to 'mend the fences' after the gala or something. Let me tell you, old gal. You threaten to send one pony to another dimension once and you never hear the end of it!"
A drop of water fell from the ceiling right on Discord's nose.
"Fine, fine," he continued, throwing his arms in the air. "Anyway, we take the train to the sanctuary - I offered to make us all sneeze so hard we'd be thrown there in an instant, but apparently Treehugger likes trains. So, we take the train, and we arrive in some forest. You would not believe the racket these little buggers make. Apparently their 'vibrations are in tune with nature' or something. Treehugger's a special case."
Discord took a breath. The grove was once again completely silent.
"So there's this pony there," Discord continued. "Some boring stallion with thick glasses. He went on and on about every creature that feeds on crickets. Between you and me, the whole thing made me hungry for a snack. So anyway, I ask Fluttershy, wouldn't it be great if the crickets could fight back? Maybe they could be the ones getting a snack for once?"
Discord sat back on his chair, and drew it closer to the tree. "She said some nonsense about the order of nature. To be honest, I didn't listen. I figured I'd do something nice, so I picked up one of the little crickets. I made it bigger. More teeth always help, so there's that. Oh, and glowing red eyes. I figured if they could shoot beams from those eyes, whatever birds are eating them would leave them alone. Really, the so-called order of things just made this little buggers so weak and helpless."
A few drops of water fell from the ceiling. The quiet splashes they made as they hit the ground resonated across the cave.
"This was my gift to my dear friend Fluttershy! Apparently she didn't like it though. She yelled at me, telling me to turn the cricket back. The stallion with the silly glasses went hysterical - I thought that made him more interesting. As for Treehugger, she tried to sing one of her weird songs to my cutesy little monster. I thought for sure she'd lose her nose!"
Discord shook his head and chuckled. "Of course, I changed the creature back. I only wanted to do something nice for Fluttershy, you know," he admitted with a sigh, looking down. "You know, that's the most difficult part of this whole friendship thing. You and I both know I don't belong in their world. Things are so boring, so predictable, so... so you!" He pointed at the tree.
He was met with silence. A spider dropped down from a dark corner of the cave, hanging from its thread.
Discord chuckled again. "You have to be laughing inside those branches. Me, the immortal lord of chaos, bossed around by a pony. I know you had something to do with it. It's no coincidence a pony who carried a part of you was the one to turn me around."
He sat again and stared at the tree. "You know what the worst part is? I'm actually happier this way. I haven't been able to cause any serious chaos for at least a year, and I couldn't feel more complete. I know, I know, you tried to explain it to me back in the old days. Fluttershy though, she gets me. Yes, she won't let me transform clouds into mud, but she doesn't mind if I turn her house into a giant cookie once in a while. She did a lot for me. Maybe one day, I'll even bring her here with me."
The glow from the mushrooms in the cave slightly intensified, bringing with it an intangible feeling of warmth.
"I wonder if I should get her a gift. I wouldn't have the slightest idea what to give her. That's more of a second year friendship lesson, I think." he pondered as he flew back and forth, stroking his white goatee. "Oh, speaking of gifts, Twilight loves that little shack you gave her. Although, I still think you owed me my own throne in there."
Silence met Discord again. He rolled his eyes as he slowly shook his head.
He sighed as he slid back down onto his chair. "So, I have to say, you were right. I should have listened to you back when you said friendship was worth it. I had to learn it the hard way, I guess."
The wind made its way into the grove again. The crystalline branches chimed pleasantly.
"Anyway, if Fluttershy can have other friends, I suppose I can too," he admitted, looking down at his mismatched limbs. He slowly raised his head and looked at the tree. "I think it's high time for the two of us to make peace. Wouldn't you agree, dear sister of mine? If you want, I could visit again, let you know what everypony is up to."
A ray of sunshine managed to find its way inside the cave and gently kissed Discord's face. He moved toward the tree, and sat against the trunk, slowly smiling as he looked up. The Elements of Harmony glimmered brightly.